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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23968741">Two Sides, One Coin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani'>Tayani</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akira fucking snaps - the fic, Catharsis, Engine Room, Fistfight, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, No P5R spoilers, is it? Idk, the thieves are there in the background like wtf is going on</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:09:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,388</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23968741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurusu Akira was not a person prone to anger.</p>
<p>But that just meant when he finally <i>did</i> get angry, all hell broke loose.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Marigolds Discord Recs</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Two Sides, One Coin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Be aware of the warnings on this piece. This isn't a nice story, but it sure was cathartic to write. My inner Akira just... had a few words to say to Goro. And a punch or two to throw.</p>
<p>No P5R Spoilers except for vague glove thing and characterization thing - essentially my characterization definitely changed after playing P5R.</p>
<p>I will delete any comment I deem hateful.</p>
<p>This story MIGHT get a second chapter sometime later. I haven't decided yet.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It wasn’t in the nature of Kurusu Akira to get angry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was a calm person by choice. He’s long ago learnt how to keep his emotions at bay, his face carefully blank, his voice soft and rarely heard. Most people, when asked to describe him, would say he was a quiet, unassuming guy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In some people, that kind of disposition meant just that. In Akira, it meant there was a whole vast ocean of emotions bubbling and swirling right under his skin - and right now, it was boiling over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akira was angry - no, he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>pissed off</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Some of that anger could be attributed to the time just a week or two ago, when all of his friends decided to risk his life in order to go through with an idiotic plan - and nevermind his protests or requests they think it over. Some of it came from being beaten, drugged and abused, from knowing that one wrong step meant he’ll end up shot in the head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some of that anger - a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of that anger - came from his friends then welcoming him as if nothing had happened and positively </span>
  <em>
    <span>gushing </span>
  </em>
  <span>about how good their stupid plan was. It surprised Akira a bit, that their general dismissal of the trauma he went through angered him more than the actual attempt on his life and the betrayal of the one person he respected, understood… </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Then again, he knew Goro would betray him. He knew his rival would do anything it took to achieve his goal - he </span>
  <em>
    <span>respected </span>
  </em>
  <span>that, even though it was a very twisted form of respect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And at least Akechi had enough decency not to act like they were best friends the next time they’ve met - which, coincidentally, was another reason why Akira was really fucking pissed right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Infiltrating Shido’s Palace was one giant pain in the ass. Everything about it irritated him - the prolonged battles, the statues of Shido’s stupid face everywhere, the annoying chipper of the cognitive passengers, the way his team insisted on trying to trick every single one of their targets into giving them the letters of recommendation as if it wasn’t obvious they’ll need to fight them anyway… By the end of it, Akira was running out of healing supplies and stamina alike and felt the anger he always kept hidden deep within bubble closer and closer to the surface. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then he had to crawl through a damn ventilation shaft into the engine room, fight the goddamn yakuza asshole, and now, now it was almost over, Akechi fucking Goro made his appearance, in full-on feral mode which Akira knew was about as real as his prissy Detective Prince persona.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He kept calm and collected throughout his rival’s monologue even so - mostly because he knew if he opened his mouth now, there’d be no turning back. But, when the first wave of attacks had been exchanged and he had to once again make sure his whole team actually worked together and did their respective jobs… when Akechi started to yell and let go of any pretence of control himself… Akira felt something inside him snap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t fair, he heard Arsene jeer at the back of his head, for </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be allowed to let it all out while Akira had to be the adult in the room. The past few weeks of emotional turmoil sloshed and twisted in his head, until all of that anger, all of that trauma finally spilled over - and Akira found, to his astonishment, that he and Goro finally managed to agree on something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To hell with holding back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Step back,” he growled at his team, in a voice so unlike him they all obeyed on instinct. Akira didn’t care; he didn’t look behind, didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His legs carried him forward, towards Crow. Akira’s dagger fell and clattered to the floor, followed by his gun and then gloves. Finally, once he was close enough to Crow he could see his confusion behind the black mask, Akira took his own off, Arsene rising into existence over him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s mine,” he said, as if to the Thieves - but Akira’s eyes never left Goro’s. The man he loved. The man he hated. His rival.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And the one person who currently seemed like the very source of everything that was making him </span>
  <em>
    <span>so fucking angry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s this, Joker?” Crow jeered, confusion still lacing his voice beneath the mockery. He was launching into another monologue, his own mask disappearing from over his face as Loki appeared in the roar of red flame. “Taking me on alone? Not about to endanger your precious frie-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Clang.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akira didn’t consciously decide on what to do - at least he didn’t think so. The moment Goro started to talk, </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>threw a punch, his bare hand connecting with the side of the other’s helmet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a metallic sound, a yelp, a searing pain in Akira’s own hand - but he didn’t stop to think about it. Above the two of them, Arsene and Loki both lunged forward, wings clashing against sword. Below the fighting personas, Akira was throwing punch after punch until the helmet fell under his bloody hands and until Crow, shrieking and spitting blood, launched at him with a punch of his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a dirty fight. There was no strategy, no magic, no items - they jumped at one another with the ferocity of wild animals, an eye for an eye. Akira felt all thoughts vanish from his mind. He only saw Goro’s face, twisted in a grimace, could only hear their voices yelling obscenities at one another. Their bodies rolling on the floor, blood flooding his mouth, blinding, searing pain that somehow made everything finally make </span>
  <em>
    <span>sense</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A punch to Akira’s gut threw him off onto the cold floor; he felt Crow’s claws leave painful scratches over his scalp as Goro grabbed his hair and kicked, knocking the air out of his lungs. Akira grabbed his leg before he could draw back and bit down hard, relishing in the pained scream that earned him - and then, he was being kicked down again and pinned to the ground, the warmth of Goro’s body pressing over his own sobering both of them up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fucking… </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay down</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was, according to Goro, Akira never found out - mostly because the moment the other boy spoke, Akira jerked his body up and headbutted him right in his already messed-up face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hurt like a bitch - headbutting someone wasn’t something Akira has ever done before, and he wasn’t prepared for how loudly his head protested against the treatment. But through the searing pain he heard something crack and he was fairly certain it didn’t belong to him. The next moment, he felt blood spray over his face as Goro let go of him and rolled over, covering his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ignoring the pain for now, Akira made a pounce after him, pinning him down this time. Goro was looking nothing like the prim and proper Detective Prince now - hair wild, clothes torn, his whole face bruised and scratched, blood gushing from his broken nose. If Akira knew he didn’t look any better himself, he’d have commented - like this, all he did was punch the wind out of him again and grab his dagger from the floor miraculously near them, pressing it against Crow’s throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You </span>
  </em>
  <span>stay down, asshole,” he growled, spitting some of the blood gathering in his mouth on the gross metal floor of the engine room. Goro growled like him, like a wild animal, thrashing in his hold; Akira had to be careful so he didn’t cut his own throat. It took another punch for Crow to finally admit defeat, his eyes burning holes into Akira’s head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do it, then, coward,” Goro spat at him, once they both caught enough breath to speak. He was still wheezing, coughing on his blood. Akira saw red again; his hand rose up, ready to deliver the killing blow. He heard his teammates scream, saw confusion and just a flicker, a bare </span>
  <em>
    <span>shadow </span>
  </em>
  <span>of fear in Goro’s eyes…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, throwing his dagger away and releasing the other’s wrists from his grasp, Akira cupped Goro’s battered face in his hands and kissed him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was worth anything. Goro’s startled gasp; the disbelieving yells of his teammates in the background, the taste of their blood mixing on his tongue - it was all priceless. For a moment, Akira was sure Goro was going to push him away - and then, he was being pulled close, clawed hands once again tangling in his hair, forcing him deeper into the kiss…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They kissed like they fought - bloody and brutal and clawing for every bit of advantage. And, once they couldn’t go on without air anymore and had to part, Akira thought that perhaps this was all - that this was over…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, Goro spat him in the face with his blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Akira snarled, grabbing Goro’s wrists and pushing them into the floor as he tried to throw him off. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and your stupid, childish revenge plan. Fuck you and your damn stubbornness. Who fucking asked you to fight us?! And for fucking what?! You think Shido gives a shit about you? You think he doesn’t already know who you are, him, the most paranoid fucking man on the planet? You think he didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>check</span>
  </em>
  <span>?! What, you reckon he’ll do anything other than shoot you in the face the moment you try and make him apologize for what he did to you?! You fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>moron</span>
  </em>
  <span>! You drive me goddamn </span>
  <em>
    <span>nuts </span>
  </em>
  <span>with how </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid </span>
  </em>
  <span>you are!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somewhere along his tirade, Goro’s wriggling died down, his eyes growing wider the more Akira was going on. The raven could hardly blame him - he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>saying more words than he probably did during their whole friendship combined. Above them and behind them, there were eyes watching, mouths hanging open. Akira breathed heavily, his eyes furious. He saw Goro’s mouth open, as if he was going to reply, say something...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, he went limp in Akira’s hold and turned his head away, escaping from Akira’s glare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...then fucking kill me yourself already,” Goro said, voice surprisingly quiet, raspy from all the yelling. “I’ve lost, haven’t I? What do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>care</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>care?” Akira stared down at him in disbelief and then, so suddenly Goro yelped, he straightened up, reaching down into his pocket. Before anyone could say anything, before anyone could react, Akira pulled out a small piece of leather from there; and promptly slapped Goro across the face with it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you asshole,” he growled, gripping the glove. “You’re my rival. I thought we were clear on that. You’ll defeat me or I’ll defeat you - you throwing yourself into a dumb revenge plot that’ll get you killed by a piece of trash like Shido is frankly </span>
  <em>
    <span>pissing me off</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>life </span>
  </em>
  <span>belongs to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>do you understand?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Goro was still staring at him; even after Akira let him go, after he slowly stood up, the other boy stayed down on the ground, mouth hanging open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, Goro started to laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was long, loud and uncontrolled; and soon, Akira joined him, snorting and laughing freely, the sounds echoing around the metal walls of the room. Akira reached his hand out and Goro took it, slowly climbing up as well, the two of them leaning against one another now, bent in two from laughter. When they finally calmed down, Goro wiped away some tears with the back of his hand, smearing the blood all over his face - though he didn’t seem to care much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span>… you really are something else, Kurusu,” he said, with not a shadow of the past mania or fake chirpiness in his voice. Now it was sharp and amused; it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> and unadorned and everything Akira loved about this man. He gave him a sharp grin of his own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve lost. You admit that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For now,” Goro nodded agreeably. “Everything hurts and I’m too tired to keep fighting. So for now, we’ll call it your win.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll stop interfering with us, then,” Akira said. “And,” he added after a moment, “You’ll help us change Shido’s heart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Goro looked away; he fell silent at that, his lips pressing tightly together. Akira growled and shook him, until Goro looked back at him with a hiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look… I happen to hate the bald asshole as well. And though he didn’t do to me even </span>
  <em>
    <span>half </span>
  </em>
  <span>of what he did to you, I still want him to suffer. What would you have done to him, idiot? Kill him? Death’s too good for someone like him. You’ve seen what we did to Madarame, I know you’ve probably seen Kaneshiro’s reaction, too. He’ll be hit even worse. He’ll have to grovel and beg for forgiveness for the rest of his life; he’ll stew in every sin he’s ever committed, he’ll suffer hell on earth for every last second of his remaining life. You wanted to throw him into living hell? I’ll make sure you do so </span>
  <em>
    <span>personally</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Hell, I’ll bring in some popcorn for us when we watch the aftermath. But I want you there, by my side.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want me to join your merry little group? What will your precious friends say when-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did I say anything about joining us? No, so shut up. And I’m not asking my precious fucking friends right now. I’m asking </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time since the start of the conversation, Goro actually looked at him - straight at him, right into Akira’s eyes. He was searching - for what, Akira had no idea, but he willingly bared his soul for him. For a long while, there was silence; and then, Goro’s lips curled up into a sardonic smile that somehow looked all the better for all the blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...and if I agree and </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>protest?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then we’ll do it just the two of us. If we’re together, we’re more than powerful enough to defeat him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Kurusu-kun,” Goro laughed with sharp fondness in his voice Akira has never heard there before, but could get used to hearing. “You’ve just promised to make my father suffer and take me along for the ride… keep it up and I’ll think you’re trying to seduce me.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you like my stories and would like updates on my writing process/life/current obsessions, you can find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/mikan_writings">@mikan_writings</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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